Ye Qin stood amid the children, silently watching the Grand Steward on the platform. The man looked familiar. Ye Qin took a closer look and realized it was Grand Steward Zhang—the very man he'd seen yesterday at the side gate of the Herb Gathering Hall's residence, accepting a money pouch from a local gentryman!
Ye Qin glanced at the chubby boy from afar again and thought, I wonder how Grand Steward Zhang will look after that boy.
Ye Qin also desperately wanted to become a Herb Gathering Apprentice and live a life free from worries about food and clothing. But he wasn't stupid enough to step forward and sign the life-and-death contract. He wanted to see what this medicine trial was all about.
The other children were also wary and didn't dare step forward to try.
The chubby boy was bold. He was the first to run forward of his own accord. "I'll do it! I'll be the first to try the medicine!" Since his father had once given Grand Steward Zhang money, he wasn't afraid of the trial at all.
Soon, several other children from gentry households ran forward, eager to be among the first to try the medicine.
Seeing that only a handful had volunteered, when half the places were still empty, Grand Steward Zhang didn't rush them. Smiling, he called out, "Anyone who goes into a wooden hut to try the medicine first will be rewarded with a piping-hot chicken leg afterward!"
The moment he made the offer, dozens of children rushed forward to try the medicine. For children from poor families, a single chicken leg was tempting enough to make them risk their lives.
Grand Steward Zhang selected five or six of them and had them join the children from the gentry households. They first pressed their fingerprints onto the life-and-death contracts, then were sent into the little wooden huts to try the medicine.
The huts were half-open, and a middle-aged man sat inside each one to supervise the trial.
Ten children entered the huts. Under the middle-aged men's watchful eyes, they put something into their mouths.
The hundreds of children outside watched from a distance. They could make out a little of what was happening inside, though not very clearly. Stretching their necks, they held their breath and waited.
The medicine trial dragged on.
For the first quarter of an hour, nothing happened in any of the ten huts, and unease began to creep over the crowd.
Then, after a quarter of an hour had passed, a piercing cry suddenly came from one of the huts. The child inside came racing out, foam spilling from his mouth and his whole body turning red and swollen. "Help! Somebody, help me!"
But the boys and girls watched with cold expressions. Not one of them meant to help.
The hundreds of children stared in shock, then turned toward Grand Steward Zhang on the raised platform, hoping he would save the child.
Grand Steward Zhang sat steadily on the platform, smiling as he puffed on a green bamboo pipe, smoke billowing around him. He said coolly, "Trying the medicine is entirely voluntary. No one else is responsible for the consequences. Anyone poisoned by fewer than nine herbs is not one of our Herb Gathering Apprentices. Even if they're poisoned to death, no one will save them. Only those who eat at least nine herbs and become apprentices of the Herb Gathering Hall can be saved."
The child foaming at the mouth collapsed before everyone's eyes. He didn't die right away, but just kept convulsing.
The hundreds of children in the field— even the boldest boys—felt a chill run through them, their hair standing on end. The little girls turned deathly pale and began to cry. They understood now: people could die in this medicine trial, and their deaths could be horrifying.
In less than an hour, children from four more huts came running out in utter terror and collapsed on the ground. They'd been poisoned in different ways. Some showed no outward symptoms, but their bodies itched so badly they scratched themselves nearly raw. Others were covered in red boils that suppurated and burst into sores, stinking foully. One little girl staggered out of her hut without saying a word, spat out a mouthful of black blood, then went limp on the ground, lifeless.
Ye Qin looked around in a daze. Of the hundreds of children in the field, at least half were wailing in terror. Another small group were so frightened they wet themselves. The remaining dozen or so brave children were just as lost as he was. Some tried to run away, but the embroidered-robed youths keeping watch grabbed them and beat them in front of everyone, until they were bawling for their fathers and mothers.
By noon, all ten children in the first group had come out of the huts.
One poor child had died from severe poisoning. On Grand Steward Zhang's orders, his body was taken straight to a mass grave more than ten miles outside the county seat and buried there. Four others had been poisoned but hadn't died. They were driven out of the residence; if they could find a doctor in time, they might still survive. Three more had suffered mild poisoning. Though they weren't in serious danger, they'd lost their chance to join the Herb Gathering Hall and were driven out as well.
The chubby boy had been poisoned until his face was covered in mottled patches. He was so frightened that he wet himself on the spot. With a vacant stare, he opened his mouth and cried out incoherently, "Father! Father, where are you?" He seemed close to losing his mind from fright.
Ye Qin noticed Grand Steward Zhang suddenly reach out and stuff a small pill into the chubby boy's mouth. Then he ordered several embroidered-robed youths to escort him away. It seemed the hundreds of silver coins the local gentryman had given him had helped after all.
The embroidered-robed youths sternly warned the children driven out of the residence to keep quiet. If they dared tell outsiders about the Herb Gathering Hall's medicine trial, the youths would come "visit" their whole families and teach them a lesson. The banished children were too frightened to refuse. They could only nod and promise not to tell anyone about the trial at the Herb Gathering Hall.
Of the first ten, only one passed. He was a twelve-year-old boy from a common family. He'd eaten ten herbs and barely made it through the trial, so he was formally admitted among the Herb Gathering Apprentices and rewarded with a chicken leg.
The boy who passed was pale, his legs weak, and his whole body trembling—not from poison, but from sheer terror.
The trial continued that afternoon. This time, not a single child was willing to step forward. Everyone knew it was a matter of life and death. They wouldn't do it for one chicken leg—not even for a whole fat chicken. They cried and clamored to leave.
Grand Steward Zhang sneered. It was easy to enter the Herb Gathering Hall, but getting out was another matter.
He gave the youths a glance.
The embroidered-robed youths immediately charged into the crowd. Moving swiftly, they grabbed ten children and dragged them before the platform. Grabbing their hands, they forcibly pressed their fingerprints onto the bright red life-and-death contracts, then sent them into the little wooden huts to try the medicine.
Ye Qin had spent over half a year wandering around the county seat, begging for food. He'd learned long ago how sinister people could be, and how to read their expressions. He'd kept his eyes on Grand Steward Zhang and the youths. The moment he sensed something was wrong, he immediately shrank back and hid amid the hundreds of children, narrowly avoiding the youths who were grabbing people.
His face went pale. Among the hundreds of children, he could be counted among the braver ones. But against these youths skilled in martial arts, he could only stare helplessly. He had no choice but to hide deep in the crowd, doing everything he could to avoid getting caught.
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